Our Well-loved Denim Jean Jacket/Airstream

The Argosy renovation project will have many phases due to budget and time constraints. Before our maiden voyage we will not be able to have the Argosy professionally painted. It will be painted however - by your truely. This weekend I painted the bottom panels. I will be painting the upper part white in the future but I wanted to do something unique on the lower panels.

One of our mottos during this renovation has been "play to your strengths." Paints, be-it murals paints, faux paint techniques or even finger paints are mediums with which I am very comfortable. I decided to play to that strength to address the Argosy paint issue. I chose to do a patch work faux-paint, denim technique in varying denim wash hues. This technique is very forgiving where scratches and dents are concerned. I removed the dents, sanded and sprayed the surface with Mad Dog Primer prior beginning the technique.

I taped off some panels/patches and rolled on the bottom color. When the first coat was dry I rolled on a blue glaze then dragged a linen technique bristle brush first horizontally then from top to bottom to create a crosshatch pattern. This step was repeated with additional patches until the space was covered. I achieved different denim wash hues by using different shades of blue for both the under-paint as well as the glaze.

We will be adding our 5 Go Forth logo and some typography art patches (stickers) on the denim that resemble appliques or collected patches. Stickers from our travel destination will be added as we go as well! The trailer will look a bit like a well-loved and faithfully adorned jean jacket by the end of the summer!